Instant Kesar Peda

Yes, everyone knows I love Pedas 😉 I like them all…well almost! What’s not to like, they are sweet, slightly fudgy and so delicious! Much like these golden beauties…my Instant Kesar Pedas (saffron fudge). A 15 min wonder..more like. 

My blog has many recipes for Pedas, some very quick and some slightly lengthy…but each hold their own…..they are yummy and so tempting.

I made these Pedas on the first day of Navratri last weekend…I could think of my Kaju Katli…but I will make that for Diwali 😁along with some Karachi Halwa! I am salivating just thinking about the feast in store for the days to come 😍

Anyways, coming to these Pedas….you may or may not have them during Navratri fasts depending on what rituals you follow…

Yield: 8-10 Pedas

Equipment: measuring cups/ spoons, a heavy bottom non-stick pan, a wired whisk, a plate.

Ingredients:

200 gms condensed milk

1 cup milk powder

2 tsp warm milk

9-10 strands of saffron and some extra to use for the garnish

2 tsp ghee + extra to grease your palms while shaping them

Method:

Mix warm milk with the saffron strands and let it stand for 5-8 mins until the milk is coloured beautifully.

Next, add milk powder and condensed milk to the pan. Add the saffron infused milk too. Whisk it well until it’s lump free. Place the pan with the mixture on medium flame and cook while you stir it constantly. Add 2 tsp ghee and keep stirring, I cooked it for about 10 mins to achieve a dough like consistency which leaves the sides of the pans once cooked.

Take the mixture from the pan onto a greased plate. Knead the mixture like a dough for 2 mins. Let it now cool for the next 8-10 mins. Then, grease your palms with some ghee and take a small portion of the dough and shape it into a Peda. Do the same for the rest of the dough. You can use any stamps to make some pretty designs or simply decorate them with a few strands of saffron.

Cool them in the refrigerator before you serve. They stay fresh in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days.

You can also try my instant Dhoodh Peda, Mathura ke Pede, Khoya Peda, Mawa Burfi among many others this Diwali 😊

Love,

Shreya💝

Moong Dal ka Halwa

I welcomed Ganpati Bappa with a simple and delicious Moong Dal ka Halwa. Yes, no Modaks at my place because I am not good at shaping them. So, I offer him goodies which I am good at making myself😊 ….maybe next year I will get a cute little Modak mould/ maker and then use that to shape them well! So much to learn 😀  

We do not actually bring a Ganesh Idol home every year but we do decorate our home with garlands of fresh marigolds and lots of roses…bright ‘diyas‘ adorn our Pooja Ghar and I do cook a special meal for my favourite Lord!

This year the menu consisted of Phalhari Kadhai Paneer, Masala Puris, Vrat ki Chutney for Dahi Wade as we don’t include onion and garlic in our meals on auspicious days…and of course, the moong dal ka halwa..:)

My hubby likes the halwa to be slightly grainy and moist..hence the quantity of ghee is obviously more…one can adjust that while making it. Also, I only prefer pistachios with this halwa, feel free to add almonds or walnuts…anything you like! As always, this is easy and turns delicious👌 Simply mouthwatering…I had to really resist hard until we had offered the bhog to the Lord before we could gorge on some😂

Let’s make some…

Yield: serves 3-4

Equipment: a heavy bottomed non-stick pan (I use non-stick, it’s easier to work with it), measuring cups/ spoons, a small pan.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup split yellow lentils (dhuli moong dal)

8-9 tbsp ghee

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/4 tsp cardamom pwd (elaichi pwd)

Slivered pistachio to garnish as needed

Method:

Rinse and soak the lentils (dal) in lukewarm water for 2-3 hours (I always use lukewarm water here as it ensured that the lentils are soaked well in less time).

Once the lentils have soaked well, strain them. Blend them in a mixer without adding any water until smooth (I leave them a bit grainy as I mentioned above too). Set it aside.

Heat ghee in the pan, once it melted, add the blended lentil paste and keep stirring on low flame for 15-20 mins. Do not cease stirring as the lentil paste will burn or colour unevenly. After 15-20 mins, the ghee will seperate from the lentils and the lentil paste will be a bit crumbly and golden in colour. Turn off the flame and set this aside.

Now, heat water and sugar in a small pan. Melt the sugar in the water, add cardamom powder and stir well. Turn off the flame. (We are not making a sugar syrup with a thread consistency, we are just melting the sugar here, that should take 3-5 mins)

Now, add the sugar syrup to the cooked lentils and turn on the flame, keep it on low. Keep stirring it and let it come to a gentle boil. Cover with a lid and let the sugar syrup reduce and cook for 5-7 mins with the lentils. Open the lid, check the consistency and cook further if it’s still watery, else, add 1 tbsp of ghee and turn off the flame.

Garnish with nuts of your choice or just pistachios like I have done here, best served warm. Or create a fusion by add a scoop of ice cream to the bowl!

Happiness doesn’t come without calories 😉

Love,

Shreya💖

Besan ke Laddoo / Besan Laddoo

As a child, I never really liked Besan ke Laddoo. I found it too heavy for my palate. And, back in those days, I wasn’t a fan of Indian sweets. Chocolates were my only choice of ‘mithaai‘. I was a child after all! 

Remember my love for Cadbury Nutties! You should have a look at these Brownies I made using Nutties 😉 They were better than what I had expected them to be, given I was experimenting!

I developed a taste for Indian sweets at a much later stage in life…& Besan ke Laddoo were first in the list! I love their slightly coarse texture, melting in my mouth just as I bit into one…wow! The nuttiness of the roasted besan/ gram flour is so rustic. Once I fell for it, I was irrevocably in love with these Laddoos! And as always mom would make them during festivals…and I’d wait for them ☺️ but never learnt how to make these. I always knew it was a tedious task 😯

The first time I tried making these one afternoon after I got married, I was near tears!! I had made a blunder. A big lump of ghee, sugar & partially cooked besan sat in the wok in front of me…looking like everything except what I had envisioned 😒 I trashed everything! Once my hubby got home, I told about the disaster, he asked what were the proportions I had used?! I was like, ‘Mmmm…I am not sure I followed what mom told me’. He being an IHM grad, instantly got where I might have gone wrong & told me not to worry as proportions matter a lot alongside the cooking time and some such more things. I was quiet. Mentally making a note to self to give it another shot next week! And I did, results were slightly better but cooking the ghee along with the besan was making me nervous & edgy. I wanted to be calm but I simply couldn’t stop panicking all the time. I knew I had added too much ghee! Common, there had to be another way to do this!!? 😐😐

The next time I tried after a couple of months, I had a strategy in my mind! I had asked my mom about it and she approved & encouraged me to do it as I was comfortable doing it. I had decided to roast the besan separately and then add warm ghee slowly into it …mix & then add the nuts, sugar, etc. and that’s exactly what I did about two years ago! Those were so much better than my first two trials and the microwave Laddoos that I had tried seeing someone post a recipe in some food group. I was happy! My hubby approved it! 💃👏 woohoo! And to this day I have stuck to my method, which I am sure many must be following, but for me it was a discovery of sorts 😛 and look at my Besan ke Laddoo now….I am proud!

The ones you see in the pictures were made a few nights ago, and packed for an Independence Day potluck lunch at hubby’s work! I shot these before packing them the next morning for him to take them to work 😇 Yes! They are good enough to flaunt…LoL! But, proportions matter…they do. That’s exactly what this recipe is about.

️Yield: 35 small/ 25 medium/ 20 large Laddoos

Equipment: a large wok, a mixing bowl, a blender, 1-2 plates, measuring cups/ spoons, a spatula.

Ingredients:

3 cups besan/ gram flour (I used a coarse variety, use any variety you get)

1/2 cup semolina (barik sooji/ rava)

1 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar (adjust the sweetness as per your taste)

1 cup melted ghee (approximately, may need less or more)

1/2 tsp cardamom pwd

5 tbsp crushed almonds

Method:

Heat the wok, dry roast the besan until it gives a rich nutty aroma & turns slightly dark brown in colour on medium flame only. Keep stirring continuously to avoid burning (took me 30 mins on medium to low flame). Once done, remove it & spread the dry roasted besan on a plate to cool. In the same wok which is still warm, dry roast the crushed almonds and semolina for 5-6 mins on low flame. Remove from the wok & add the semolina, almonds & powdered sugar to the cooling besan and mix well with your fingers. Mix in the cardamom pwd as well. That’s the tough part done.

Pls ensure you follow the next couple of steps correctly to get prefect Laddoos ☺️ Now, ensure that the melted ghee is at room temperature. Adding very hot ghee to the dry mixture which ruin the texture. Slowly, add tablespoon fulls of melted ghee into the dry mixture of besan, sugar, semolina, cardamom pwd & nuts and keeping mixing with your hands (Add the ghee slowly, don’t add all in one go, as we may not need all the ghee in a cup). As you feel the mixture is coming together to form a Laddoo, stop adding ghee & take some mixture in your palms and make a Laddoo, if the Laddoo is holding a tight shape, your mixture is ready. Just add 1 tsp of ghee to it finally & start making the Laddoos one by one. Ensure you press each Laddoo tightly so that they do not fall apart. Trust me, they won’t!! (I used approximately 3/4 cup ghee, isn’t that healthy?!) Arrange them in a on airtight box, they will last upto 5-6 days without refrigeration.

Your melt in the mouth kinda Besan ke Laddoos are ready!

Love,

Shreya💗